


Traitor

by fulldaysdrive



Series: Scenes [1]
Category: Final Fantasy IV
Genre: Angst, F/M, bitter jerkassery, non consensual kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-07
Updated: 2012-11-07
Packaged: 2017-11-18 03:46:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/556548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fulldaysdrive/pseuds/fulldaysdrive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the Tower of Zot, Kain and Rosa have a little chat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Traitor

He stood with his arms folded, watching over the captive fastened tightly to the throne-like chair in the topmost chamber of the floating fortress called the Tower of Zot.  For once, she was not struggling against the steel bindings; she sat quietly with her eyes closed, though he knew she was half-awake. The standard prisoner's garb she wore prevented deep sleep. He took the moment to regard her appearance.  She was a forlorn sight after weeks of imprisonment. Her elegant golden locks, usually tied back in a glorious honeyed waterfall, now hung loosely around her shoulders, muted and matted and lank. The aforementioned prisoner's garb, not much more than a shapeless potato sack, did not become her nearly as much as her usual finely-tailored tunics. The depths to which this lovely angel had fallen were truly pitiable, he thought to himself. One corner of his mouth turned up into a bitter smile that held no amusement at all.

She moved then, turning her head to the side as she murmured something under her breath. Her voice was nearly inaudible, but Kain caught one word she spoke: "Cecil." His expression darkened, and the glare he shot at the captive maiden was venomous.

"Can you think of nothing else?" he snarled, unable to contain himself.

Rosa's eyes blinked open at once in bleary startlement, then focused on his face. "Kain?" Her voice was a halting whisper. Her eyes held puzzlement and frustration, just as they had the moment she had seen him in Fabul's crystal room. Every time she looked upon him, he could practically see her mind working furiously, trying to understand, to figure him out.  She could not reconcile her childhood friend to this impassive, cold man, but her gaze never revealed fear. It grated on his nerves.

"Oh well done, that is indeed my name," he drawled sarcastically, relishing the look of hurt that flashed across her face. "Did you sleep well?"

"You know I haven't." Rosa looked away.

"Daydreaming, then?" Kain snorted. "Wishing for your hero to come and rescue you?" His lip curled in a mocking smirk.

"He will." Her voice did not waver; the white mage was certain of this fact. "I know it." She turned again to him, that searching look back full-force in her eyes. "And we'll find out how to cure you, Kain!"

His smirk never faltered. "Foolish, naïve Rosa. There is nothing to cure."

"I don't believe that!" she challenged, frowning. "Golbez has obviously done _something_ to you! You do not act like the Kain Highwind I know!"

"Then you know me very little, Rosa." The Dragoon bent low in front of her, placed his fingers underneath her chin, and tilted her face up close to his. "I don't think you realize that all of this is for _your_ very own good. Your love, your hero, your Cecil is a traitor to Baron. I had it from his own lips; he confessed to me in Mist that he was _willing_ to go against the crown. He was _willing_ to betray the very same King who raised him as his own."

"That's not true!" Rosa frowned; she looked insulted. "Everything he does is for Baron's sake! And not even simply for Baron alone; he fights for the good of everyone!"

"What vaunted nobility!  Would that he could be so selfless!"  He gave a derisive chuckle.  "If that were true, Rosa, he wouldn't be willing to trade the Earth Crystal for you.  What a service he does for the women of Troia!"  Kain pursed his lips.  "You can speak of his honor all you like, but you'll never convince me that he has any."

"How can you say these things about him?" Rosa's gloriously blue eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. "He's your _friend_ , Kain, you know him better than that!"

"He's treacherous scum, Rosa!" Kain's voice lowered to an impassioned, harsh whisper. "Why can't you see this? He had nothing! Everything he is now was granted with grace by our King and his country, and what has he done? He plans to overthrow Baron – the country that gave him everything! How can you overlook that? Or are you so blind with love for that damned traitor that you would cast away your duty?"

"I don't understand how you could say such things, Kain." Rosa's eyes pooled with unshed tears. "You _know_ Cecil. He's not like that! What Baron is doing... it's unconscionable! Cecil is only trying to do what is _right_! He – he's even become a Paladin, Kain! How can you deny that his actions are true?"

Kain was darkly amused by her words. "I care not if he has painted his armor white and thrown his helmet aside. A man's nature does not change overnight. A Dark Knight knows nothing of righteousness, and never will. You really _are_ quite naïve, my dear." His fingers traced her jawline, and then he cupped her cheek.

She drew back, or tried to. "Kain—!"

He grasped her jaw once more, this time none too gently. His next words were forced through clenched teeth, gratingly harsh. "I swear to you, Rosa, I will show you that my words are the truth! In time, you will realize that I am your true ally. And then, perhaps..." He drew himself down closer to her, and she froze. With deliberate gentleness, he kissed her unresponsive, petal-soft lips.

"Am I so undesirable, Rosa?" he whispered, his gaze beseeching. She clenched her eyes shut and did not answer.  Tears fell down her pale cheeks in glittering trails.

After a moment, Kain released the trembling Rosa and then stood again. He looked dispassionately down upon her, noting how stiffly she sat, clearly bracing herself. "Worry not," he spat. "I would not force my affections upon you." He paused, then added, "You would do well to remember, Rosa Farrell, that you are a lady. You shame our class by wasting yourself on that lowborn cur."

He turned and stalked away, leaving her alone to fill the room with her quiet sobs.

**Author's Note:**

> A somewhat different take on Kain and his motivations. I wanted to flesh him out a little, and I didn't want to rely on his infatuation with Rosa. The storyline I've come up with theorizes that he had been on the "other" side for quite some time before Mist - and although some of it was indeed mind-control, it was based upon planting seeds of doubt of Cecil's character.
> 
> I'd like to disclaim a plot-hole; if Kain is so angry about Cecil betraying Baron, what about the fact that at this point of the game, it had been revealed that Cagnazzo had killed and displaced the King? Wouldn't it make his argument sort of... really really moot? Well, not if Golbez had been relying on Kain's righteous anger about Cecil's apparent duplicity. Golbez has always struck me as being very crafty, and very in control of everything, including what his followers know. For the purposes of this plot, Kain and Rosa do not know that the King was replaced. All they know of Cagnazzo was that he had been one of the Fiends and that Cecil had defeated him.
> 
> Special thanks to: Capsulekei for your thoughts, as always, Monie for your support, and Kai Askari for telling me when I've done weird things with grammar.


End file.
